


Love Will Ignite

by ConsciouslyNaive



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: Drama, F/F, Female Relationships, Femslash, LGBTQ Character of Color, Political Alliances, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-06
Updated: 2014-04-04
Packaged: 2018-01-14 08:40:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1260052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConsciouslyNaive/pseuds/ConsciouslyNaive
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Following the events of the Great Freeze, Queen Elsa’s advisors are pressuring her to find a suitor. When the royal family of Tashnoor arrive at Arendelle to discuss trade agreements, Elsa is pushed towards the Tashnoor’s eldest son, Prince Amir. Then the prince's younger sister, the bold and fiery Princess Ranira, blazes into her life, and Elsa begins to feel a new kind of heat that she has never felt before. But as Elsa struggles with her feelings at the same time as trying to preserve the relationship between the two kingdoms, tensions bubble to the surface and peace begins to seem more and more like a distant fantasy. Amongst both personal and political conflicts, will Elsa ever be able to find a way to balance her royal duty and her heart?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Elsa - Wise Council

“Now, Your Grace, if we could discuss the matter of trade…” Elsa watched as Arendelle’s Lord of the Treasury, Anders Falk, pulled out a thick stack of papers from underneath the table and began sorting through them. His head, bald except for a ring of thin brown hair that ran around it from one ear to the other, bobbed up and down as he fumbled with the sheets. “I believe I have a copy of the most recent quarterly report on ingoing and outgoing trade. It must be here somewhere. No, that’s not it. Now where did I put it…”

Lord Falk was, as usual, showing no sign of finding what he needed with any great speed. Elsa decided to take the opportunity to let her mind wander slightly. The royal board of advisors had been discussing political, economic, social, and international matters for some hours now, and the stress was beginning to dig into Elsa. Allowing herself to retreat into her mind for a moment, she took several deep breaths and relaxed her shoulders. The ice that she had felt beginning to creep through her bare fingertips to encrust the arms of her chair receded, and Elsa felt a small amount of pride at the control she now held over her powers.

She was positioned at the high seat of honour, at the far end of the ornately-carved, dark oak table of the royal courtroom, otherwise known as the Hall of Wise Council. This was an historic site, where Arendelle’s kings and queens had sat and discussed matters of national importance with their elected council for as long as the history books could remember. Many neighbouring kingdoms held court in elaborate throne rooms, Elsa knew, with the monarch looking down upon everyone else from atop their royal seat. In Arendelle, things were different. Their kings and queens were not tyrannical rulers; they valued the counsel of the royal advisors, and so despite the position of the monarch at the head of the room, all those present were seated at the same table, on the same level in terms of both elevation and respect. It was a firm tradition of Arendelle’s, one which had remained strong over centuries of royal rule. Personally, Elsa was glad that the tradition existed. The thought of sitting before hoards of expectant nobles and officials, all waiting for her to give them wise and flawless judgement, was not one that gave her comfort. At this stage in her new regency, she was glad of the counsel.

By the time Elsa allowed her mind to return to the meeting at hand, Falk was still rifling through his documents, muttering to himself absent-mindedly. Elsa noticed that Anna, seated to her right in the second-highest place of honour, appeared rather bored. Oblivious to court’s unspoken rules of conduct, Anna was slouching over the table, one cheek propped up by the hand she supported by resting her elbow on the table.  Judging from her drooping eyelids and slack jaw, Anna was coming perilously close to falling asleep. Although she knew it was highly improper for a princess to show signs of boredom or any sort of impatience in a formal situation such as this, the queen was not entirely unsympathetic. Even some of the advisors at the other end of the table were beginning to yawn.

 “Ah, I’ve found it!” Falk declared triumphantly. The sudden loud noise woke up Anna, who jolted upright in her chair and blinked confusedly at Falk with an expression that suggested she had entirely forgotten where she was. The Lord of the Treasury brandished the notorious report in the air, waving it about with obvious pride, before pushing his spectacles further up his nose and studying it carefully. “It says here that whilst incoming trade has not declined very significantly in the past few months, likely due to the increase of trade with the Southern Isles since the incident, the level of income we are receiving from our exports has declined substantially since severing our trade agreements with Weselton.” He looked up at Elsa over the rims of his glasses. “Perhaps if your majesty would consider some sort of reconciliation…”

Falk had Anna’s attention with that. She leaned forward in her chair immediately, a panicked expression on her face. Anna turned to face Elsa, giving her sister a desperate look. The events of the brief “Great Freeze” Arendelle had suffered only a few months ago were still very fresh in Anna’s mind, Elsa knew, and it was unlikely she would have forgotten their reasons for cutting off trade with Weselton so quickly.

“I am afraid that would not be possible, Lord Falk,” Elsa replied levelly. Seeing Falk begin to tense at her response, she added, “It is a matter of principle.”

The Lord of the Treasury did not take this response well. Falk’s face had gone a mild shade of red and his mouth had tightened. Anxiety was plain on his face.

“Her Majesty does make a good point,” said Johan Borreson, Chief Royal Advisor and assumed chief of the court, second to the queen. He was a slender, elderly man with a face that was worn through years of hard work and stress, though it was not an unkindly one. “Halting trade with Weselton does indeed go deeper than economics. When the duke committed treason, he branded himself a traitor. By cutting our ties to his kingdom, we send the message that we of Arendelle will not quickly forgive those who betray us, nor will we accept those who threaten or refuse to accept our queen.”

Borreson nodded in the direction of Elsa, who gave him a slight, thankful smile in return. She and Anna had known the Chief Royal Advisor since before they could walk. He had advised their parents, and their grandparents before them. More than that, Borreson had long been a friend and trusted confidante of the family. During the Great Freeze, he had been one of the few men brave enough to speak out against Hans’ suspicious claim to the throne. Though he had been threatened with punishment befitting high treason, Borreson had stood his ground. When Elsa returned to Arendelle as its rightful queen, one of the first commands she had ordered was to release him from the castle cell where he had been imprisoned for a short time. Now he was back in his rightful place, on the royal council, and Elsa was immensely grateful for his presence.

“But surely matters of trade outweigh those of principle?” Falk asked, indignant. “This is not just a matter of personal grudges - there are civilians to consider. Without sufficient outgoing trade, the people of Arendelle will not be able to sell their goods at a profit. It will not take much for people to begin blaming the crown for their financial troubles. Before long, we could have a rebellion on our hands.”

 _The people_. A stab of guilt struck Elsa at that. It was she who had ordered the cessation of trade with Weselton, in the form of a hastily-written royal decree. Her advisors had warned her against it, and even Borreson had seemed hesitant. She had gone ahead with the move regardless, furious at the Duke’s betrayal. But if she had accidentally caused her people suffering by doing so……the thought troubled Elsa greatly.

Borreson nodded thoughtfully. “Lord Falk’s concern is valid. The common folk must have some form of outside trade, or else we shall all face the consequences. It would be a wise decision to find a new trade partner for Arendelle, in order to replace Weselton.”

“What would you suggest?” asked Elsa. She knew a little of economics and somewhat more of geography from her lessons growing up, but she had no doubt that the Lords Borreson and Falk, in addition to the rest of her twenty-three advisors, would be infinitely better qualified to present a plan of action.

“The first step would naturally be to decide upon a potential trading partner,” replied Borreson. “Upon finding a suitable kingdom to form an alliance with, we could invite a handful of representatives to come and discuss terms.” He turned to look at Falk. “Your thoughts, sir?”

“Yes…yes….an excellent plan,” Falk nodded his head in agreement. “We must of course make certain that we have something to offer our new partner in trade. Hmm….yes, perhaps a country we have never previously had a trade relationship with. One which Arendelle’s goods would hold some novelty value for.”

“Novelty value?” Elsa bristled at the term. “What we create is an important part of our people, of who we are as a culture. I do not wish for the work of my people to become mere novel trinkets for foreign traders to gape at.”

Falk’s mouth opened and closed, but he failed to reply. Elsa’s sudden annoyance after largely silence on her part throughout the proceedings had taken him aback, most like. Even Elsa herself was surprised at her outburst. Nevertheless, she believed in what she had said about protecting the creations of her people. She knew how much the crafts and products of Arendelle meant to the civilians. _I have caused enough harm as it is_ , she thought, remembering the Great Freeze and the cutting off trade with Weselton, _I do not wish to cause more by letting foreigners take advantage of my people_.

“I am sure what Lord Falk meant was that we should find a country that has not yet had the pleasure of appreciating the work of Arendelle’s people,” explained Borreson. “Foreign trade need not diminish the value of our goods, Your Grace. Their quality should continue to remain at a high standard, and I do believe the common people would be glad of new trade opportunities.”

Giving a soft sigh, Elsa sat back in her chair. “You are right, Lord Borreson. Lord Falk, do forgive me. I believe the length of this meeting is beginning to take its toll. You gentlemen have presented me with many fine opinions, and I would appreciate being given time to mull them over. Perhaps we could adjourn for today?”

“Your Majesty need never ask for my forgiveness,” Falk proclaimed. “Nevertheless, I shall give it gladly.”

Borreson removed a silver pocket watch from his breast and glanced at it briefly. “Our meeting has indeed run on for far longer than we anticipated. On behalf of myself and the other councillors, I apologise for keeping you for such as excessive amount of time, Your Grace.”

“Do not concern yourself, sir,” said Elsa, putting on a benevolent smile. “I am in no hurry. That said, it appears that this meeting has come to a natural conclusion. Shall we reconvene tomorrow, at the same time? I hope yourself and Falk will have some suggestions of potential trading partners by then.”

“Indeed we shall,” said Falk, looking rather more pleased now that Elsa had expressed interest in the idea of a new trade alliance.

As tradition dictated, Elsa stood up first, to signal the end of the meeting. Anna pushed herself up next to her sister and stood regally for a second until pins and needles kicked in and she began to hop from side to side with a slightly pained expression. The councillors then rose and bowed to the queen. Elsa smiled and thanked them for their time, before turning and heading towards the door with Anna by her side.

Elsa linked her arm through her sister’s as they left the room. In response, the younger girl grinned at her through a pins-and-needles-induced grimace. Though she could not help but laugh at the peculiar expression Anna was making, the warmth of the smile melted whatever ice Elsa had left in her head and chest after that meeting. Together they walked down the corridor, Anna hobbling on over-sensitive feet and her older sister gliding tall and graceful – as thoughts of trade alliances, advisors, and royal decisions whirled inside Elsa’s head.


	2. Anna - A Happy Talent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this chapter was certainly a long time in coming! I have been very busy with work and studying, so that has been the largest factor in the delay. This chapter is also much longer than the first, and it took me a while to get used to Anna's POV. I'm happy with how it turned out in the end, though. Hopefully the third chapter will be up a bit sooner next time.
> 
> PS: Bonus points to whoever knows where the name of this chapter comes from.

“Come on, come on, come on!” Anna called as she and Elsa dashed through the halls of the castle. The courtyard was only a little way away from here, she knew. They could get there in minutes. _If only Elsa would move a bit faster…_

“Slow down, Anna!” protested Elsa. Anna knew her older sister would be self-conscious of how they looked, the queen and princess running through the castle like this, but by then Anna was too excited to care. When she heard her sister’s now-familiar giggle coming from behind her, all concerns vanished.

It was only a bit further to go. _Turn left here, now round that corner, careful not to trip there, and –_

“Here we are!” declared Anna. She spread her arms wide in a theatrical gesture, presenting the courtyard to Elsa, who had paused on the steps to lean against a pillar and catch her breath.          

Giving her sister a chance to get her breath back, Anna surveyed the scene. The courtyard was the perfect choice for today’s practice, she thought proudly. She and Elsa had played on it once after the Great Thaw, when Elsa had created an ice rink for the people in celebration of her return. That last time had been back in summer, but it had been a few months since then. They had barely used it since, and she and Elsa hadn’t once used it when it was just the two of them. But with its wide open space, flat surface, tall fountains, and walls on three sides that would protect any unsuspecting passers-by from stray snowballs, Anna knew it would be the ideal place for this afternoon’s play.

Today’s weather was perfect, too. The sky was still mostly blue, with soft white and grey clouds moving across the sun occasionally and providing some shade. Looking past the walls of the courtyard and over to the opposite side of the fjord, Anna could see that the forest-covered cliffs had turned from deep green to vibrant reds and earthy browns, a clear sign that autumn was here. A pleasantly cool wind blew through the courtyard, and Anna thought she could just about hear the rustling of trees in the distance.

“Okay, enough breathing,” said Anna, grabbing a still-slightly-breathless Elsa by the hand and pulling her into the courtyard. “It’s time to play!”

“Anna,” said Elsa, making a serious face. “You know this isn’t just for fun. I need to practice controlling my powers. It’s important that I always stay on top of them. If I ever start to lose control, or find I get at all unused to it –”

Elsa stopped there. Anna _was_ listening, and she knew she should probably be acting a bit more serious about it, but still – she couldn’t stop a big, goofy grin from spreading across her face, or from bouncing slightly on the spot. She was just so excited to be playing with her sister again. With Elsa! The sister who’d shut her out for so long – _although that wasn’t really her fault_ , Anna mentally pointed out to herself, having been told the full story of Elsa’s isolation – now wanted to play with her every single day. It was so amazing and wonderful that Anna could barely contain her excitement.

Feigning exasperation, Elsa gave a little eye roll before allowing herself an amused smile.

“Do you want to build a snowman?” Anna blurted out, no longer able to contain herself.

Elsa gave a laugh – a lovely, musical sound. “I thought you’d never ask.”

*****

“Ready?”

“Ready.”

“Are you sure?”

“Come on, I was born ready.”

“If you’re sure...”

“Just do it already!”

“Okay, okay. On your marks, get set…”

“Go!”

Yelling the last word at the top of her lungs, Anna threw herself off the edge of the snow pile Elsa had created. Right on cue, Elsa thrust out with her hands. Ice swirled up from the ground and gathered in a crystallised slide that began just underneath the pile Anna had now thrown herself off.

Anna squealed with delight as the slide materialised beneath her. It grew longer and longer as Anna slid down it, twisting and turning around the courtyard. Throwing her hands above her head, Anna let out a whoop. She beamed as she caught sight of Elsa standing in the middle of the courtyard, hands outstretched, a gleeful smile lighting up her face. Anna couldn’t remember the last time she felt this happy.

With one last twist bringing the icy slide back to where it had first begun, Anna’s stomach did a flip as the slide dipped down, taking Anna with it. She skidded off the end and was sent feet-first into a snow bank, where she promptly tripped over herself and landed face-down in the snow.

“Anna! Are you okay?” Elsa’s concerned shout was muffled by the snow in Anna’s ears, but she heard it well enough to respond by raising her head and giving her sister an ice-filled smile of reassurance. She must have looked a bit silly, because Elsa (now standing just next to her, Anna guessed from running over to make sure she was all right) laughed before twirling her hand in front of Anna’s face. Anna felt the ice drift off her skin, leaving her face warm and dry as if no snow had ever touched it. She gave a contented sigh and rolled over onto her back, letting her head dangle over the edge of the snow bank.

 _Everything looks funny this way up_. The sky was in the wrong place, definitely, and the pillars surrounding the courtyard seemed to be hanging out into space, rather than stretching up to the clouds. The top part of her vision was still filled with white, though, thanks to what was practically a miniature winter wonderland covering their courtyard. _Elsa must be getting stronger_ , she thought, considering everything her older sister had made today. First Elsa had covered the paving of the courtyard in a thick sheet of ice, so smooth that she and Anna could skate on it. Which they did – right after Elsa had magicked them each a pair of ice skates that fit perfectly. Then, of course, Elsa had made that giant flurry that had formed huge piles of snow in every corner of the courtyard, which had been so much fun to make snowballs with. And that wasn’t even mentioning this ice slide Elsa had just made, which – now that Anna thought about it – had been just as perfectly smooth as the ice rink, plus it had been created with lightning speed as Anna travelled down it. _I mean, Elsa’s powers were impressive before, but this is just_ …

“What are you thinking about?” asked Elsa.

Anna rolled over onto her side to see her sister lying in the snow next to her, one hand behind her head, watching the clouds roll by. _It’s great to see her looking so relaxed. Before the Great Thaw there’d be no way she’d…oh right, she asked what I was thinking about. What was it? Something about her powers? Yeah, that was it_.

Anna opened her mouth to tell Elsa what she had been thinking, that Elsa was just getting better and better at controlling her powers and how happy she felt that Elsa was looking so relaxed these days, when she remembered something else she’d wanted to say.

“Actually, Elsa, I’ve been thinking,” she began, tentatively at first. “You know how in the meeting earlier, the councillors were saying about finding a new trading partner for Arendelle?”

Elsa’s face tensed slightly, looking a little wary if not unkind. “Yes. Why?”

“Well…” Anna drew out the word, stalling whilst she figured out how to phrase what she was going to say next. “I was in the library earlier –”

“Reading?” Elsa asked, with a teasing smile. “Or breaking treasured family heirlooms again?”

Anna blushed at the memory. That was _one_ time. Whose idea was it to put a glass bust on a table at elbow height, anyway? And that was beside the point.

“Reading, actually,” Anna replied, pouting slightly and sounding more than a little offended. “Anyway, like I said, I was in the library earlier when I saw this book on a table. So I looked at it and it turned out to be about this kingdom called Tashnoor, and I was thinking,” Anna took a deep breath, then let the next words tumble out before she had a chance to hesitate. “Would you consider letting Tashnoor become Arendelle’s trading partner?”

Elsa exhaled gently. “I don’t know, Anna. I know nothing about Tashnoor. I mean, I have some idea of its general location. Somewhere south of here, I think –”

“That’s right,” Anna interrupted, nodding her head enthusiastically. “It’s way, way south, right down in the Al-Jerir region. It’s really sunny there, you know. They practically never get snow, not even in winter. In summer it gets so hot you can be killed just from the sunlight. And they’ve got these great big piles of sand all over the place too.”

“– But I still don’t know enough about it to justify forming a trade alliance,” Elsa finished. “What do I know about their trade, Anna? I have no idea what kind of goods they produce, what sorts of products they would want to trade with us.”

“Oh, but I can tell you all about that too!” Anna insisted. “They trade all sorts of stuff. There’s clothes, material, silk, perfume, incense, tea, jewellery, furniture, spices, gems, and so much more. Their capital, Shaheen, is one of Al-Jerir’s biggest trade centres. We could be one of the first Northern kingdoms to trade with them! And I bet they’d be quick to trade with us, too.”

After she finished her piece, Anna began to feel a little awkward.  She hadn’t meant to ramble at Elsa, but she was so desperate for her sister to like her idea, to be able to help her for once. Tucking a loose strand of hair behind one ear, she peered up at the queen hopefully. But Elsa didn’t look that happy. She was sitting up in the snow, her hands clasped in her lap. Her eyes were fixed on her hands, but they had a faraway look in them, as though she was thinking very hard about something. Then suddenly she snapped back to attention and turned her head to face Anna once more.

“Where did you say you learnt all this from?” Elsa asked abruptly.

“F-from the book in the library, like I said,” Anna could remember it now. The book, a big red one with gold writing on the cover, had been lying open on a table when she walked in. A gorgeous illustration, depicting what would later turn out to be the “golden city” of Shaheen, had caught her eye. After looking around briefly to check if anyone else was in the middle of reading it – and finding the library to be empty – Anna had sat down and started reading. Before she knew it, she had learnt all about the kingdom of Tashnoor. It was the most exotic and amazing place Anna had ever heard of. “It was just lying on the table when I got there, so I thought I’d have a look and that’s when I read about it.”

“And why were you in the library at the time?”

“Well, after you went to your study after the meeting, I went looking for someone else to talk to. Kristoff and Sven were on their way out to harvest ice, and Olaf said he had ‘important duties’ to attend to.” The memory of Olaf, waddling through the corridors with a stack of paper almost as tall as himself balanced on his spindly twig arms, almost made Anna laugh out loud. He had seemed very proud of himself, though, so if Elsa had appointed him ‘chief royal snowman assistant’ to make him happy then she had certainly succeeded in that. “So I decided to take a walk around the castle hall myself. Then I ran into Borreson, and he said that I could go to the library if I was bored. So I did, and that’s when I saw the book.”

Anna decided to leave out the fact that she was draped dramatically against a knight in shining armour (just the shining armour, actually) when Borreson came around the corner and startled her so much she yelled and knocked the whole thing over. It was only when the two of them were putting the suit back together that Borreson suggested the whole library thing. Anna suspected that his idea had less to do with keeping Anna from being bored and more to do with preventing her from damaging any more precious castle ornaments – but again, she decided to skip that part.

A light seemed to go on in Elsa’s head, as her face lit up with what Anna assumed was realisation. “Borreson told you to go to the library?”

“Um, yeah,” said Anna, uncertain why this was important. “Why?”

Elsa began to smile then, seemingly out of nowhere. Anna was taken aback and didn’t know why her sister looked so amused, but Elsa’s beautiful smile was contagious and she soon found herself joining in, even if she had no idea what they were grinning at.

Elsa took Anna’s hand in hers and squeezed it reassuringly. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

Anna felt herself go warm and giddy at the touch, even though Elsa’s hand was cool, and quite soon she didn’t really care why Elsa had smiled like that. Her big sister seemed happy now, which was all she’d wanted. _Hey, maybe I did do something right, after all!_

“Actually, there is _one_ thing we should worry about,” said Elsa, getting up from the snow bank and surveying the ice-covered scene around them. “All this snow here. We wouldn’t want it to go to waste, would we?”

Elsa grinned mischievously. Before Anna knew what was happening, Elsa had begun to pelt her with snowballs, soft but icy cold. Anna giggled and squealed when the snowballs exploded into flakes as they collided with her face and chest. It didn’t take her long to regain her composure, though, and start hurriedly mashing some snowballs of her own together. Soon, she was returning Elsa’s favour with almost as many snowballs.

Laughter rang out through the courtyard, and all felt right in the world.

 

**Author's Note:**

> This story is loosely inspired by this post: http://adventuresofcesium.tumblr.com/post/74630744576/a-sequel-to-frozen-where-elsas-advisors-are-all. I already had something of an idea for a Frozen fic when I read the post, which set my brain going and eventually helped to produce this story. I just wanted to give the writer of this blog credit for inspiring this fanfiction, as that seems like the right thing to do. However, as much as I am personally a fan of the writing on the afore-linked blog, please bear in mind if you visit it that the author openly says she isn't a fan of Frozen, so you shouldn't follow her if you are expecting her to be one. That is all.


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